Curtain

ABSTRACT

A curtain comprises a curtain panel consisting a set of parallel sections, an upper rail extended over the curtain panel and a cord reel hidden within the upper rail having cords connected to said parallel sections of the curtain panel to control an upper and down stretching of the curtain panel. Because of the cord reel, the up/down configuration of the curtain panel can be activated by directly pushing and pulling the curtain panel.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to curtains, more particularly to acurtain having a curtain panel consisting a set of parallel sections, anupper rail extended over the curtain panel and a cord reel hidden withinthe upper rail having cords connected to said parallel sections of thecurtain panel for controlling the upper and down stretching of thecurtain panel. Because of the cord reel, the up/down configuration ofthe curtain panel can be activated by directly pushing and pulling thecurtain panel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A curtain of suspension type of the prior art has a plurality of hangingdevices that are connected by a curtain rod. The curtain panel undersuspension mechanism can be flexibly replaced in accordance with variouspurposes.

The configuration of the curtain panel is controlled by a pull cordusually installed on one lateral side of the panel based on visuallyappealing and user's convenience considerations, as shown in FIG. 9.Therefore, the pulling force transmitted to the curtain panel throughthe cords is tilted, often resulting in uneven leveling on two sides ofthe panel. Further, cords exposed outside the curtain panel bringpotential danger to kids whose necks could be strangled by the cords.

Therefore, the curtains of suspension type need further improvement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the primary objective of the present invention is toprovide a curtain comprising a curtain panel consisting a set ofparallel sections, an upper rail extended over the curtain panel and acord reel hidden within the upper rail having cords connected to saidparallel sections of the curtain panel to control an upper and downstretching of the curtain panel. The curtain has the advantages asfollows.

1. Because of the cord reel hidden in the upper rail, the cords arecontrolled by the cord reel. Therefore, the light-shading configurationof the curtain panel is controlled by directly pushing and pulling thecurtain panel, which is more natural to a user.

2. Since, the up and down of the curtain panel is activated by directmanipulating the curtain panel, without pulling a side cord, the problemof uneven leveling on two sides of the curtain panel is prevented, andthe problem of lateral sliding of the curtain panel along the upper raildue to applying force one side is avoided.

3. The absence of cords exposed outside the curtain panel will removethe possibility of strangling kids, largely increasing the safety of thecurtain.

4. Because of the absence of cords exposed outside the curtain panel,the present invention can be embedded within a window frame, which takeslittle space.

The various objects and advantages of the present invention will be morereadily understood from the following detailed description when read inconjunction with the appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view a curtain of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view the curtain in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view another preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view a further preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention wherein the curtain panel is a Roman blind consisting ofcontinuous folds.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention wherein the curtain panel is a Venetian blind.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention wherein the curtain panel consists of multiple sections thatare operated independently.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention wherein the cord reel is electrically powered.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view a curtain of the prior art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a curtain 10 of the present inventioncomprises a curtain panel 3 consisting a set of parallel sections, anupper rail 1 extended over the curtain panel 3 and a cord reel 2 hiddenwithin the upper rail 1 having cords 21 connected to the parallelsections of the curtain panel 3 to control an upper and down stretchingof the curtain panel 3.

According to the above structure, the movement of the curtain panel 3 iscontrolled by the cord reel 2, whose flexibility allows a direct pushingand pulling on the curtain panel 3 to attain desired sunlight shadingconfiguration. Therefore, the operation of the present invention is morenatural and convenient to a user. Further, the present invention can beembedded within a window frame, which takes little space.

Since, the up and down of the curtain panel 3 is activated by directmanipulating the curtain panel 3, without pulling a side cord, theproblem of uneven leveling on two sides of the curtain panel 3 isprevented. Further, the problem of lateral sliding of the curtain panel3 along the upper rail 1 due to applying force one side is avoided. Itis a further advantage that the absence of cords exposed outside thecurtain panel 3 will remove the possibility of strangling kids, largelyincreasing the safety of the curtain.

The curtain panel 3 of the present invention is not limited to a Romanblind consisting of continuous folds, it can also be a Roman blindconsisting of a plurality of wider sections (FIG. 3). Further, thehanging mechanism can be an arrangement of rings 22 (FIG. 4), a set ofmultiple folds (FIG. 5) or a Venetian blind (FIG. 6). The common pointis the hidden cord reels within those hanging mechanisms.

Referring to FIG. 7, the set of cords 21 can be so arranged that thereare several sections on the curtain panel 3 that can be controlledindependently by the cord reel 2 in the upper rail 1. Thereby, theeffect of a multiple section curtain is achieved.

Because of the absence of exterior cords, it is a further preferredembodiment wherein the cord reel 4 is electrically powered, as shown inFIG. 8. Since, the up and down of the curtain panel 3 is activated bythe electric cord reel 4, without pulling a side cord, the problem ofuneven leveling on two sides of the curtain panel 3 is prevented.Further, the problem of lateral sliding of the curtain panel 3 along theupper rail 1 due to applying force one side is avoided. It is a furtheradvantage that the absence of cords exposed outside the curtain panel 3will remove the possibility of strangling kids, largely increasing thesafety of the curtain.

The present invention is thus described, and it will be obvious that thesame may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regardedas a departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention, andall such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art areintended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

1. A curtain, comprising: a curtain panel consisting a set of parallelsections; an upper rail extended over said curtain panel; and a cordreel hidden within said upper rail having cords connected to saidparallel sections of said curtain panel to control an upper and downstretching of said curtain panel.
 2. The curtain of claim 1 wherein saidcurtain panel is a Roman blind consisting of continuous folds operatedsimultaneously.
 3. The curtain of claim 1 wherein said curtain panel isa Roman blind consisting of a plurality of sections connected by saidcords.
 4. The curtain of claim 1 wherein said curtain panel is aVenetian blind consisting of continuous folds operated simultaneously.5. The curtain of claim 1 wherein said curtain panel is a Venetian blindconsisting of separated blades operated simultaneously.
 6. The curtainof claim 1 wherein said curtain panel comprises a plurality of sectionsoperated independently.
 7. The curtain of claim 1 wherein said hangingmechanism is an arrangement of rings.
 8. The curtain of claim 2 whereinsaid hanging mechanism is an arrangement of rings.
 9. The curtain ofclaim 3 wherein said hanging mechanism is an arrangement of rings. 10.The curtain of claim 4 wherein said hanging mechanism is an arrangementof rings.
 11. The curtain of claim 5 wherein said hanging mechanism isan arrangement of rings.
 12. The curtain of claim 6 wherein said hangingmechanism is an arrangement of rings.
 13. The curtain of claim 1 whereinsaid cords between said curtain panel and said upper rail are connectedto an electric cord reel.
 14. The curtain of claim 2 wherein said cordsbetween said curtain panel and said upper rail are connected to anelectric cord reel.
 15. The curtain of claim 3 wherein said cordsbetween said curtain panel and said upper rail are connected to anelectric cord reel.
 16. The curtain of claim 4 wherein said cordsbetween said curtain panel and said upper rail are connected to anelectric cord reel.
 17. The curtain of claim 5 wherein said cordsbetween said curtain panel and said upper rail are connected to anelectric cord reel.
 18. The curtain of claim 6 wherein said cordsbetween said curtain panel and said upper rail are connected to anelectric cord reel.